This book is a centenary celebration publication marking the
founding of the Illuminating Engineering Society in Great Britain. Its
subtitle makes clear its focus on that organization: "The
Illuminating Engineering Society to The Society of Light and Lighting
(1909- 2009)." Its foreword makes clear its intended tone:
"... the publication (is) to be a memento of the first one hundred
years of organized lighting, ranging from the birth of the IES in 1909
to its Centenary." Though claimed to have a very modest aim and
"not be a serious history", the book presents valuable
information, insights, and context for events that reveal the
development of lighting in Great Britain, viewed through the prism of a
history of an organization.

The presentation is informal and clear, proceeding chronologically
through the century by way of small sections, often only a few
paragraphs in length. No attempt is made to connect these sections into
a seamless narrative and so the book has a conversational quality and
is, as the first author makes clear in the foreword "a pot-pourri
of events, and a reflection on people and developments that shaped the
British lighting profession." Though larger issues are often
described, the focus remains the Illuminating Engineering Society and
the people who formed it, served it, promoted it, and changed it.
Clearly the authors had access to many colleagues with long memories, to
previously written reminiscences, and to the records of the
organizations they describe. The book benefits from these details.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

The century is broken into five chapters covering the years
1908-1909, 1910-1945, 1946-1978, 1979-2008, and the future. Considerable
detail is presented in the first chapter about Leon Gaster, his
publication "The Illuminating Engineer", and the important
role he and it played in the establishment of the Illuminating
Engineering Society. The parallel roles of Louis Marks, E. Levenworth
Elliot, and "The Illuminating Engineer" in the United States,
is striking.

This part of the book conveys the nature of lighting at the start
of the 20th century, the wide variety of technologies involved, and the
wide interests of the individuals who came together on that evening in
November of 1909 to establish a new organization. Indeed, the cover of
the first volume of Gaster's publication makes it clear that
lighting was provided by an array of technologies: oil, gas, acetylene,
electric arc, and electric incandescent sources.

The advancements of technology, standards, and the practice of
illuminating engineering are detailed in the second chapter. During this
period the British Illuminating Engineering Society began to produce two
publications rather than just one ("The Illuminating
Engineer"): "Transactions of the Society" and "Light
and Lighting." The growth of the British lighting industry in the
years between the two world wars is described in terms of technology
(especially the development of the fluorescent lamp) and the expanding
reach of the Illuminating Engineering Society beyond its London base.

During the time covered by the third and fourth chapters the
development and founding of the British journal "Lighting Research
and Technology" in 1969 is described, as well as the establishment
of the Research Centre at Capenhurst in Cheshire by The Electricity
Council. The Research Centre was responsible for much of the lighting
research that resulted in Electricity Council and Illuminating
Engineering Society publications and standards of the time.

Of particular interest in these chapters is the candid discussion
of the events and individuals that eventually led to the merger of the
Illuminating Engineering Society with the Institute of Heating and
Ventilating Engineers to form the Chartered Institution of Building
Services (CIBS) and eventually, after a row with The Council of
Engineering Institutions about the name of the organization, The
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE). The
authors leave no doubt as to how difficult this merger was, how
uncertain the outcome, and how great the cost. With this merger, the
Illuminating Engineering Society became the Lighting Division of the
CIBSE, the publication of Light and Lighting ceased, and membership
narrowed and decreased.

Chapter four ends with, among other things, a description of how
and why the Lighting Division was established as a separate company,
though owned by the CIBSE, and renamed The Society of Light and
Lighting. Included here is a summary of the later publications of the
Society, a list of the recipients of its highest honor, The Lighting
Award, and a list of presidents of the organization since its founding
in 1909.

This book recounts in a detailed and interesting way the role that
a society of lighting professionals has had in the development of
Britain's lighting industry, and thus is a valuable addition to the
written history of the lighting professions.

doi: 10.1582/LEUKOS.2009.06.02002

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